Congratulations to the summer 2026 recipients of the Asian American Journalists Association’s scholarships, internships, grants, and fellowships. These opportunities are made possible through the support of our judges, partners, sponsors, and everyone who contributes to investing in the next generation of journalists.
AAJA Original Founders Executive Leadership Program Fellowship
RECIPIENT: Megan Cattel
Megan is an assistant editor at Nieman Reports, a publication part of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. Previously, she worked as a reporter, audio producer, and fact-checker for WBUR, Foreign Policy, NPR’s StoryCorps, The China Project (formerly known as SupChina) and other outlets. For Nieman Reports, Megan currently works across print, digital, and social media. She fact-checks reported pieces, commissions stories, curates a visual storytelling column, and writes articles, Q&As, and event recaps. She helps manage Reports’ presence on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X/Twitter, and maintain editorial standards by training new fact-checkers.
She currently serves as co-director of the Asian American Journalists Association’s Young Journalists Affinity Group (nicknamed Yung AAJA) and a board member of NüVoices, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting diversity in writing, research, and journalism about China. In late 2025, she became president of AAJA’s New England chapter.
Dinah Eng Leadership Fellowship
RECIPIENTS: Suevon Lee and Celina Tebor
Suevon Lee reports on education for WBUR, Boston’s NPR affiliate. As assistant managing editor of the team, she’s overseen coverage of K-12 and higher education issues in greater Boston. She led a 2024 project series examining the 50th year legacy of court-ordered busing in Boston public schools and steered education coverage during the early part of the current administration, including federal funding cuts to universities and impacts from visa restrictions against international students.
Prior to joining WBUR, Suevon reported on education for Honolulu Civil Beat, where her story about the lack of a girls’ athletic locker room at Hawaii’s largest public high school prompted a Title IX federal class action suit against the state Department of Education, ultimately resulting in a settlement mandating steps for gender equity in athletics.
Suevon is proud to be part of the 2026 AAJA Executive Leadership Program with the support of a Dinah Eng Leadership Fellowship grant.
Celina Tebor is a senior news editor on CNN’s national team, where she edits and manages the newsroom’s coverage of domestic breaking news, immigration, crime and more. Previously, she was a national breaking news reporter at USA TODAY.
She guides the newsroom’s fast-moving national stories and helps direct continuing coverage across platforms. When she’s not crashing on breaking news, she’s digging into the American immigration system and poring over court filings. Her reporting and editing often focus on the intersection of law, policy and the people affected by them.
She’s served on local AAJA boards for the past five years, most recently as AAJA New York’s Vice President. She was named AAJA’s Emerging Journalist of the Year in 2023. Celina graduated from the University of San Diego and was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.
Learn more about Celina here: X | Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
NBCUniversal News Summer Fellowship
RECIPIENT: Philip Lam
NBCLA Newsroom Intern
Philip Lam is a sophomore studying journalism at Northwestern University with a passion for broadcast political reporting. He is an anchor, reporter and producer at the student-run Northwestern News Network, and previously covered national politics in Washington, D.C. for Medill News Service. A Los Angeles native, Lam will serve as a newsroom intern at NBCLA. He has previously interned with the United States House of Representatives.
Jimmie & Suey Fong Yee Grant
RECIPIENT: Cedric Derecho
Cedric Derecho is a sports reporter and MMJ, who joined WAGM-TV (Gray Media CBS/Fox Affiliate in Presque Isle, Maine) in November 2025. Derecho has been an NFL training camp reporter (Green Bay Packers, WFRV-TV), and has hosted talk shows for ESPN Radio Syracuse (WTLA).
Born and raised in New Jersey near the Jersey Shore, Derecho is a 2025 Broadcast and Digital Journalism graduate (MS) of the SI Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University. Derecho has a passion for sports play by play and sports reporting, and has embraced the opportunity to cover local sports in Northern Maine.
In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf, attending Eagles and Nets games as a fan, and traveling abroad.
Learn more about Cedric here: X | Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
ESPN / AAJA Sports Task Force Internship
RECIPIENTS: Navin Deol and Trisha Dasgupta
Navin Deol is a rising senior studying Media and Journalism, specializing in Sports Communication, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As the son of immigrant parents with a story of their own, he believes storytelling is a powerful tool that can amplify all voices and that every individual has a story of their own to tell. He is pursuing a career in sports storytelling, whether that is through a sports agency, part of a sports broadcast team, within a sports organization itself, or in any capacity that works with athletes.
He serves as a Student Video Manager for UNC Football, capturing in-game and practice footage to be used in coaches’ film study, gameday preparation, and in-game adjustments. He has also served as a Digital Content & Engagement Intern for a federally funded research study called #SportIsScience, and a Student Reporter for UNC’s student-led sports broadcast show, Sports Xtra.
Trisha Dasgupta is a recent alumna from the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned degrees in Journalism and Rhetoric & Writing. Born in India and raised in Dallas, Texas, Trisha developed a passion for storytelling and sports at an early age, fueled by a lifelong love of college football and Longhorn athletics.
In the summer of 2025, Trisha joined Bleacher Report as an intern, gaining hands-on experience in digital sports media and content production. She later returned to Bleacher Report as a production assistant, working remotely part-time while completing her senior year at UT Austin. These experiences strengthened her passion for sports storytelling and multimedia production while allowing her to contribute to coverage of some of the biggest stories in sports.
This summer, Trisha will join ESPN as a Production Intern, where she looks forward to continuing to grow as a storyteller and media professional. She is incredibly grateful for the support, mentorship, and community she has found through the Asian American Journalists Association and is excited to connect with fellow journalists and media professionals through the organization.
Trisha would like to thank her family, friends, professors, and mentors for their unwavering support throughout her academic and professional journey.
CBS Sports / AAJA Sports Task Force Internship
RECIPIENT: Roenne Saddington
Roenne Saddington is a sports journalism student at the University of East London and a football content creator. Through her social media platforms, she has built an audience of more than 26,000 followers and generated over four million views by producing matchday content, analysis, and coverage of Tottenham Hotspur, major international tournaments, and football culture.
Alongside managing her own social platforms, she works as the Social Media Manager for OhSoSpurs, a podcast dedicated to covering Tottenham Hotspur, managing and producing content across X, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and the organization’s weekly newsletter. Her experience also includes collaborating with Premier League USA on multiple digital campaigns.
A sports scholar at the University of East London, Roenne continues to play football at both the university and club levels in London. Originally from Texas, she has lived in Georgia, California, Hawaii, and now resides in London. In her free time she likes to play video games, read fantasy novels, and travel.
Sam Chu Lin Internship Grant
RECIPIENT: Angelina Liu
Angelina Liu is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a minor in Business and Public Policy. In the summer of 2026, she will serve as a communications intern at CNN through the Warner Bros. Discovery internship program.
Liu has written for KUT News, The Austin Chronicle, PEOPLE, and The Daily Texan. She previously worked as an arts desk editorial intern at KUT News, where she reported on the Austin arts scene, and served as Life & Arts Desk Editor at The Daily Texan for two semesters, editing a team of more than 20 reporters. During her internship at PEOPLE, she reported a range of digital stories with a focus on human-interest features. Across her reporting, Liu has covered breaking news in entertainment, as well as live music, art, and film.
Liu is especially drawn to entertainment, culture, and long-form feature reporting. She hopes to tell stories that broaden cultural understanding and connect communities through thoughtful, people-centered journalism.
Learn more about Angelina here: Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Stanford Chen Internship Grants
RECIPIENTS: Amen Ruth Galinato and Ria Gupta
Amen Galinato is joining CNN as a Digital Features intern for the summer of 2026. She is originally from Schenectady and is a rising senior double-majoring in journalism and political science at Stony Brook University. When she’s not at CNN, she works as the managing editor for The Statesman, the student-run newspaper on campus.
Learn more about Amen here: LinkedIn
Ria Gupta is a rising junior studying journalism and history at Michigan State University. She is passionate about local government reporting, higher education coverage and preserving community stories through journalism. She recently served as the Government and Politics Reporter for The State News, Michigan State University’s independent student newspaper. This summer, she will intern with the Minnesota Reformer, a nonprofit newsroom covering state politics, policy and government across Minnesota. She previously interned with Jezebel, where she pitched and reported stories on politics, reproductive rights and culture, developing experience in digital journalism and audience-focused reporting. Her reporting interests include local and state politics, education, public accountability and underrepresented communities.
AAJA/FOX VOICES Scholarship
RECIPIENTS: Charlie Bloomer, Sena Chang, Krish Dev, and Emilie Takahashi
Charlie Bloomer is a student at Barnard studying women gender sexuality studies and Asian and Diaspora studies. They have bylines in Nation Magazine, The Oregonian and Joysauce. They participated as a VOICES fellow in 2026.
Learn more about Charlie here: Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Sena Chang is a rising junior at Princeton University studying at the School of Public and International Affairs. She is the associate news editor leading investigations at her campus paper, The Daily Princetonian. A 2026 AAJA VOICES Fellow and a Puffin Writing Fellow at The Nation, she has reported from Japan, Cyprus, and the U.S. Sena also has bylines in Teen Vogue, The Nation, and The Diplomat, and she has been recognized by the New Jersey Press Foundation and the Columbia Scholastic Press Awards, among others. After graduation, she hopes to become an international correspondent in Asia. Sena is interning at LAist (89.3 FM), an NPR affiliate, this summer. She is guided by a firm conviction in the power of words and stories to evoke action.
Learn more about Sena here: LinkedIn
Krish Dev is an incoming graduate student at Stanford University’s journalism program and a recent AAJA VOICES fellow who presented a multimedia story on AAPI political representation at AAJA’s convention in Minneapolis. This summer, he is a Seattle Times intern managing homepage strategy, growing audiences across platforms and helping reporters digest analytics.
Krish recently graduated from New York University with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Linguistics, taking courses in natural language processing, machine learning and web development. As Digital Director of the Washington Square News, NYU’s independent student newspaper, he revamped its award-winning website, grew its social media audience to around 250,000 followers across platforms and spearheaded the newsroom’s first AI policy. He also contributed to hundreds of stories, such as an investigation into a data breach affecting 3 million NYU applicants, which was recognized by the Peter F. Collier Award for Ethics in Journalism and the Associated College Press.
Long-term, Krish hopes to keep bridging journalism and technology, equipping news organizations with the stories and tools they need to adapt to an evolving digital landscape.
Learn more about Krish here: LinkedIn
Emilie Takahashi is a student at the University of California, Irvine, studying Literary Journalism and Environmental Science. She previously covered local news for the Orange County Register and founded UC Irvine’s chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association.
Learn more about Emilie here: LinkedIn
AAJA/FOX JCamp Scholarship
RECIPIENT: Paghunda Ali
Paghunda Ali is junior at McLean High School where she serves as the online managing editor and print news editor for The Highlander. She is passionate about writing and articulating stories for people to read, especially stories that shed light on underrepresented communities.
She has written stories about the English language development program at her high school, refugees, and the war in Iran.
Thank you to the 2026 Judges for Summer Opportunities:
AAJA gives thanks to the following members for their time and contributions to support the administering of this season’s scholarship, internships, and grants: Maya Blackmun, Allen Cheng, Ryan Chien, Abby Chin, Cora Hall, Giana Han, Eric He, Carolyn Hong, Christina Huang, Pablo Iglesias, Shehan Jeyarajah, Adi Joseph, Melissa Kim, Aditi Kinkhabwala, Victoria Lim, David Louie, Adrienne Luis, Lori Matsukawa, Arjun Menon, Tami Nguyen, Shaaz Peerani, Angelica Relente, A.J. Ricketts, Elaine Teng, Josh Tolentino, Daniel Tran, Tommy Tran, Brady Wakayama, Brandon Wong, and Al Young.
Thank you to our sponsors and donors
AAJA appreciates the scholarship donors for their continuous legacy in inspiring a new generation of journalists. Thank you to our generous donors Fran and Mike Arrieta-Walden, Therese Bottomly, Kara Briggs, Josef Brugger, Catalina Camia, Serena Chen, Allen Tien Jen Cheng, Cynthia Chennault, Ann Curry, Dinah Eng, Beth K. Erickson, Varya Fish, Janice Gin, Holley Gilbert, Joe Grimm, Joan Harvey, Lisa Heyamoto, Daniel Hortsch, Kristine Horita, Bryan and Kathy Hori, Michael Kim, Cathy Kiyomura, Lloyd LaCuesta, Greg Leong, Dianne and Ray Lewis, Judy Chu Lin, Sabrina and Anthony Lozano, Lori Matsukawa, Joann and John Ng, Yoko and Alan Ota, Naomi Price, George Rede, Matthew and Dorothy Russell, Benjamin Seto, Martha Shirk, Ed Vidinghoff, Amy Wang, Steve Woodward, Stephanie Yao Long, Don Yee, Randall Yip, and Al Young, along with Steve Herman, Sam Hyun, and The Omidyar Group.
A special thanks to Kathy Black and Alisha Cowan-Vieria at ABC, Autumn Joyner and Gabby Flores-Sanchez at Bleacher Report, Carolyn Hwang and Suzanna Camacho at ESPN, Steven Thomma at the White House Correspondents Association, Tara Morgan at NBC Universal and the Indigenous Journalists Association for supporting AAJA’s scholarship opportunities.
About AAJA’s Scholarships
AAJA annually offers financial support to journalism students through scholarships and internship grants to help offset the costs of education, internships, living expenses and other professional development opportunities. These scholarships are made possible by supporters such as AAJA members, allies and generous donors. Learn more here.
